"Fear of the Lord" – Preacher S04E08 Review

If Preacher wasn't ending this year, I'd probably give up on it. But I am in blood, stepp'd so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er. Or so someone or another said. :)

Or to quote another phrase, just when I think I'm out, they drag me back in. Preacher shows signs of greatness. The performances by Dominic Cooper, Joseph Gilgun, and Ruth Negga are still good. But the creative team seems determined to present as much weird and grotesque imagery as possible. A little bit is fine. But instead of seasoning the show, it often feels like the creative team dumps a whole container of salt on the food. And Preacher is about as consumable as a meal with a box full of salt on it.

"Fear of the Lord" feels like that more than some episodes. There are lots of quiet moments between Tulip and Cassidy, and even Tyson Ritter as Humperdoo manages to contribute some poignancy. Pip Torrens looks goofy as hell in a blond wig trying to play a teenage version of himself, but he manages to pull it off.

But just when you start enjoying scenes with them, we get scenes of Starr having a spigot installed where his severed penis was. And hanging himself but pulling off his nipples. And Cassidy, Humperdoo, and Tulip projectile vomiting like something out of a Monty Python skit. And Jesse having ants inserted up his rectum. And then having his eye bitten out. Good times.

The first part of the episode resolves Starr's dilemma. We discover the Chunt Brothers, a trio of in-bred hillbilly types living in the Outback, took in Starr and gave him the aforementioned spigot. They've also cut off his leg and are eating it, making sure Starr gets the first serving. Fortunately for Starr, Lara shows up with a squad of operatives and rescues him. Why she's in charge of anything after Starr put a kill order out on her, I have no idea. Yes, she killed Hoover Two/Nix last episode and he was an undercover cop. But all Hoover Two did was shoot her when Starr ordered him to. And she had no proof that Hoover Two was a mole. Why the Grail suddenly follows her, I have no idea.

While Starr sleeps through his post-op surgery (spigotry?), he dreams of how he was a bewigged teenager who won the Mr. Dusseldorf contest. The other younger contestants cut out his right eye. This explains Starr's new obsession with his good looks.

Meanwhile, Tulip plans to kill Humperdoo once God shows up. God doesn't show up, so three months later Tulip and Cassidy are living in a farmhouse with Humperdoo. Tulip has rigged Humperdoo with explosives and I guess plans to blow him up the instant God appears. Why God--who is omnipotent, remember?--would be unable to thwart this, I have no idea.

From time to time, Tulip and Cassidy tell Humperdoo he's going to the moon. He runs out to a nearby refrigerator and gets in, but Cassidy and Tulip have both "adopted" Humperdoo and can't bring themselves to kill him.

Starr tries to kill himself and fails, and God shows up and tells him all he had to do was ask God for help. This leads God to tell Starr where Humperdoo is. The Grail uses a sonic nauseator to cause the aforementioned vomiting scene, letting them abduct Humperdoo. Cassidy still has the chance to blow up Humperdoo, but when he refuses Tulip plants an axe in his chest but can't bring herself to blow up Humperdoo, either.

Tulip and Cassidy go to the Holy Bar and Grill near Masada, and end up having sex while preparing to storm the place. Which catches us up on the flashforward bits from the season premiere.

Jesse still refuses to take God's throne, which is in Hell? Or Heaven and Hell are working together? Or something. So Fiore puts Jesse through some Hellish torture, including the ants and a lot of flames. The Saint rescues Jesse but then has a conversation with him about blindly following someone. Jesse realizes it's another Hell vision and Fiore has the Hell soldiers set Jesse in the throne. And again, how impressive is this Godly omnipotence. Shouldn't they be worried Jesse will smite them once he assumes God's throne?

God resurrects Jesse to stop the whole throne-of-God thing. Jesse climbs out of his grave and staggers through the Outback. God pulls up in his RV, greets Jesse, and tells him he's failed His test. And while Jesse is not just Preacher but a preacher, I don't understand his undying faith in God. Jesse has seen God's screw-ups and flaws throughout the series. For instance, God has let the Grail act in his name, including the original Allfather.

Jesse wonders how he could pass God's test, which he failed just for considering taking the throne. And points out God created humans in His image. God gets offended by this and... bites Jesse's eye out. Then tells Jesse he still has a part to play in the Apocalypse and get himself to Masada.

Starr returns to Masada with Humperdoo, the German's good looks (and bad blonde wig) restored. The Grail cheer him, and Starr announces they now have an Apocalypse air date. Hitler and Jesus, who have been planning their own Apocalypse, are less than enthusiastic.

Earlier before Starr tried to kill himself, Jesus tried to demonstrate his own mad skills by break-dancing. Starr cut him off, saying it's up to God not Jesus.

We also get a bit with Eugene in prison, picking up a guitar from a recently-murdered inmate. If this is supposed to establish Eugene as some kind of musical prodigy (like he is in the comics), it's a little late in the day.

At the end of the episode, Jesse returns to the Holy Bar and Grill and Tulip hugs him. Cassidy looks on, all forlorn-like.

"Fear of the Lord" moves things along, but it's mostly filled with grotesque imagery. I guess we're heading for a showdown between the Grail, and Jesse & Co. God has the upper hand, being God. The only one who can stop him is the Saint, who wants God dead and is the only being that can kill God, having already dispatched the Devil.

For those familiar with the comic books, there seems a lot missing. Instead we got a first season dedicated to showing how Jesse set out on his quest to confront God. That gave us more on the Jesse/Tulip/Cassidy background. But since then Preacher has spent a lot of time picking out a location or two, sitting on its thumbs, and occasionally revisiting other main characters like Eugene, the Saint, and Hitler.

So the result has been unique. Whether it's better than the comic books or not, mostly depends on whether you're a fan of the comic books. I'm not, so I've just been looking for a good show. have we gotten it? Yes, as far as performances from Cooper, Gilgun, Negga, Torrens, and Harelik. No, as far as likeable characters and coherent well-paced storylines. Preacher moves in fits and spurts. Sometimes it will toss a lot of plot out at one time, and sometimes it just sits and spins its wheels for most of a season, sprinkling or dumping in grotesqueries along the way. It's certainly unique, but I wouldn't call it must-see TV.

But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?